John Monnette Wins Second Bracelet With WSOP Event #10

John Monnette picked up his second World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet after taking down the $5,000 buy-in Seven-Card Stud event #10 for $190,826 in Las Vegas.

The 30-year-old pro outlasted 144 other starters in the Amazon Room of the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino to claim the top prize by remaining the last player seated after ultimately defeating fellow California-based opponent Huu Vinh in a heads-up clash that saw the runner-up pocket $117,913.

Day 3 started out with 16 survivors – including the likes of Mike Sexton, Jeff Lisandro, Eugene Katchalov, Cyndy Violette, Max Pescatori and Nick Schulman – but it was mixed-games specialist Monnette who emerged triumphant after 10-and-a-half hours for his second gold bracelet.

Champion Beats Huu Vinh Heads-Up

Palmdale’s Monnette – who won last year’s $2,500 buy-in Eight-Game Mix event #23 for $278,144 – finished off Huntington Beach’s Vinh during level 26, when the blinds were set at 30,000/60,000 with a 7,000 ante.

Vinh – who was born in Vietnam – brought in with the 3h before placing almost his whole stack of about 100,000 into the middle. Monnette raised so Vinh automatically re-raised for his last few chips.

Monnette paired jacks on his A♣ Q♥/J♣ 6♦ J♦ 8♣/9♥ board, while nothing much came of Vinh’s Q♣ 8♥/3♥ K♦ 5♣ 4♠/7♠ – so resulting in the latter again falling short at a final table this series after taking fifth the $1,500 buy-in Seven-Card Stud event #7 last week ago.

Curiously, Monnette won his first WSOP bracelet with a pair of jacks, so it’s almost certain he’ll be a fan of those cards from now on.

Nick Schulman First To Go

The first elimination of the day saw short stack Schulman, of New York, exit in 16th place for $12,035, while Team PartyPoker Pro Sexton hit the rail soon after in 15th for the same amount when his kings lost out to Vinh’s two pair, queens and tens.

The following two hours saw South Carolina’s Yuval Bronshtein exit in 14th and New Jersey’s David Rosenau ousted in 13th – both for $13,834 – while Italian Pescatori (12th) and Vegas-based Violette (11th) pick up $15,906 each.

Additionally, Seattle’s Lee Goldman was knocked out in 10th for $18,693, before New York-based Ukrainian Katchalov hit the rail in ninth – for the same cash – to set up the official final table.

Raymond Dehkharghani Out in Eighth

Kansas’ Raymond Dehkharghani was the first final-table elimination when he hit the rail in eighth place for $22,332. The short stack shoved all-in on third street and was called by Tim Finne. Unfortunately, for Dehkharghani, his pair of sevens couldn’t hold as Finne’s two pair, queens and jacks, took down the pot.

Seventh place and $27,062 went to Long Beach’s Bryn Kenney during level 23. The Day 1 chip leader lost out to Vinh’s jacks and sevens, while New York’s Mark Dickstein soon followed in sixth place for $33,325 when Monnette hit a flush on seventh street.

Again, soon after, short stack Jeff Lisandro – who was the 2009 WSOP Player of the Year – exited in fifth place for $41,789 when his nines and tens lost out to Vegas-based Perry Friedman’s straight. That sent the five-time WSOP champion to the rail disappointed, but it was another impressive display from the Stud specialist.

Perry Friedman Exits in Fourth

But Friedman was out in fourth place for $53,470 not long after once he had become the short stack. Monnette made a pair of sevens on sixth street, which was ultimately enough to send Friedman crashing out.

Now down to a three-handed final table, play slowed down somewhat, before the limits started to play a major factor as Tucson’s Finne and Vinh saw their stacks dwindle. The short stacks clashed with Finne hitting the rail in third place for $73,847 when his pair of eights lost out to Vinh’s trip queens.

Monnette entered the heads-up clash with Vinh holding a 1,890,000 to 285,000-chip advantage and was never seriously troubled as he saw off his opponent in 20 minutes – with those lucky jacks proving helpful once again.

WSOP 2012 Event #10 Top 16

1. John Monnette (USA) – $190,826

2. Huu Vinh (Vietnam) – $117,913

3. Timothy Finne (USA) – $73,847

4. Perry Friedman (USA) – $53,470

5. Jeff Lisandro (Italy) – $41,789

6. Mark Dickstein (USA) – $33,325

7. Bryn Kenney (USA) – $27,062

8. Raymond Dehkharghani (USA) – $22,332

9. Eugene Katchalov (Ukraine) – $18,693

10. Lee Goldman (USA) – $18,693

11. Cyndy Violette (USA) – $15,906

12. Max Pescatori (Italy) – $15,906

13. David Rosenau (USA) – $13,834

14. Yuval Bronshtein (USA) – $13,834

15. Mike Sexton (USA) – $12,035

16. Nick Schulman (USA) – $12,035